


Upon the Pedestal

by Dance_Elle_Dance



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Complicated Relationships, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 02:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4902289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_Elle_Dance/pseuds/Dance_Elle_Dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, jealously, Lucy really hates her cousin. (Originally posted on 9/5/11.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon the Pedestal

**Author's Note:**

> Another Next Gen fic. Complicated pairings lie ahead. Please enjoy!

Lucy can be a bit of a brat at times, she knows.

It's not just her - everyone is a brat at some point in their life. It is how things work, of course.

She finds that she is most… _bratty_ when it comes to a certain Scamander boy.

And especially now.

The whole thing is very juvenile, and she wishes it could be another way, but obviously it can't. It can't be any other way besides this way and it kills Lucy to even think like that. But it is the truth. And the truth hurts more often than not, Lucy knows.

Her heart feels like it's being pressed and squeezed from all directions. There is nothing that she can dredge up from her memories that even compares to this pain. It is unique, all it's own. There is nothing that hurts like this. Nothing can possibly hurt like this.

He's there, looking perfect with his messy blonde hair and his intelligent gray eyes. He smiles and there is nothing else in the world but him. Lucy doesn't even remember any other guys before him, it's that bad.

And then…

Lily Luna Potter.

She's done nothing wrong. Nothing at all, really, but Lucy finds that she can't stand the sight of her.

But she has him.

Lily has him and Lucy is just young and easily jealous. Easily jealous and someone that is not inclined to share, especially with not her perfect _perfect_ cousin.

Lily, who is just so wonderful and lovely and everyone adores her - even Teddy Lupin - and it gets to be so much that Lucy can hardly stand it. Especially when it comes to Lorcan.

Lily, with her perfect hair and her perfect smile and her general unflawed nature. Of course, Lucy thought of herself as a less perfect version of all of this. Her hair was more of a copper than a silky sunset, her eyes more dark than clear hazel, her skin more freckled and her smile a bit more crooked. Lily was perfect. She couldn't stand all of this. Everything that Lily did seems to remind Lucy just how flawed she really is. Just how undesirable. And she hates her for it.

But Lorcan _loves_ her for it.

Lorcan isn't a man of many words - what words he does speak are laced with sarcasm and jokes that not everyone gets. He is a master of words, brash and yet cool and collected. He seems to be a paradox of everything. Lucy can't think of any one word to describe him. They all don't seem to be enough.

But, that's not what Lucy is worried about now.

The girl with everything and the boy who means everything are gathered closely together on a bench, huddled so tightly together that it would take a scientist to figure out how to separate them.

And Lucy tries not to look at them, really she does. It's hard not to, when they're the current It couple of Hogwarts - _how silly,_ she thinks - and everyone has their eyes on them.

Lucy inhales deeply, straightens her shoulders, and flips her Gryffindor scarf over her shoulder. _Try to look dignified,_ she tells herself. _Try not to let it show that this bothers you._

Her hands are shaking, though, and that's a telltale sign that something's wrong. She's just glad her sister isn't there to call her out on it. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tries to gather herself and keeps going.

_They look like two matching puzzle pieces._

_How could anyone split that up?_

_If…if Lorcan's happy, shouldn't that make me happy?_

_That should be what I feel, not this stupid jealousy._

So she tries to screw her mouth into a smile, but that just won't work.

_Stupid._

She ends up sitting down on a bench, just a ways away from the bench on which the Scamander-Potter action is happening. And she tries not to look - really, she does - but she can't help but sneak a few glances. With each glance, a piece of her heart seems to raze and disappear.

Lucy finds her hands gripping the edge of the bench, not sure what else to do. Those grasping fingers, clenched tightly over the wood, seem to be the only thing keeping her grounded.

"Lucy."

She starts, having not heard him approach.

His dirty blonde hair and gray eyes are the same, but different. Styled differently. Roguish and stylishly unkempt. Shorter than his brother's. His eyes are kinder, less guarded. But the family resemblance is still apparent.

"Oh, hello, Lysander."

"All right?"

"Fine. You?"

"Never better," he replied, a rough smile on his face.

He sits down, uninvited but knowing that Lucy wouldn't mind. The company is probably welcome. A welcome distraction from all that is going on with her. She didn't realize she was cold until he sat down, his body heat creating a kind of blanket that helped with the shivers.

And so they sit there for a moment, not talking, just enjoying each others company. Or, in Lucy's case, trying not to think about Lorcan but having fun just being with his brother.

"He can be such a cad sometimes."

Lucy blinks, coming back to a reality that didn't involve punching Lily in the face and making off with Lorcan like some old movie villain. "Who?"

"My brother."

She finds that her back straightened at his name, and she looks over at Lysander as if he's grown a second head. "What?"

Lysander chuckles at that. "My brother is a cad."

Lucy blinks, feeling a strange sensation in her chest. "Ah, I'm sure he's not - "

"Well, he's currently snogging some girl," Lysander goes on, trying not to notice the way Lucy winces, "when he doesn't really give a piece of hippogriff dung about her."

Lucy turns her head to fully look at Lysander, then. "What?"

"Lorcan. Doesn't really care about her. Not like some others."

Lucy laughs at that. "Well, then I suppose Lily's the victim? She's trying to get back at Teddy. He dumped her to give Victoire another shot. At least, that's what I heard her telling Rose during Potions."

Lysander snickers at that. "Well, doesn't that make things more interesting."

"More stupid, if you ask me."

Lysander places a hand on Lucy's shoulder for the briefest of moments. "I hate to see you like this, Lucy."

Lucy feels her face fill with color. She's not certain what to say, so she just stares at him, at the eyes that look so much like his brother's - even though she's sure they would never stare at her with that kind of compassion.

"But I must let you know one thing."

Lucy blinks, wondering where he's going with this.

Lysander leans close, whispers in Lucy's ear the words that cause her heart to stutter and skip and fumble around her chest before finally coming to a stop.

"If I'm not mistaken, Lorcan whispers _your_ name in his sleep."

And for a moment, Lucy is paralyzed. Paralyzed with hope, with joy, with confusion. She pulls away and sees that Lysander is staring at her with a strange kind of softness, something that she often sees when Scorpius looks at Rose, or when Teddy looks at Victoire. Her heart feels like it's in her throat and she doesn't know what to do.

So she presses her hand to the top of Lysander's and looks in his eyes, trying to express the gratitude she feels. "Thank you," she says. "Thank you, Lysander."

"Anything for you, Luce."

And there's something in his eyes that makes her heart hurt. Just a bit. She's not sure what is wrong with her, but she doesn't like it.

So she rises, presses a kiss to Lysander's cheek - ignores the way her chest tightens at the expression on his face - and walks away, a new spring in her step. She doesn't even notice Lorcan and Lily on the bench. She walks right past them with a confidence that is strange for her, with a strange new name ringing in her mind.

Lysander, however, watches her as she goes.

He watches her, watches the way that Lorcan looks up from Lily's gaze to watch her as she walks. Watches as Lorcan moves his eyes to stare at his brother. Lysander gives him a small wink.

Sure, his brother might be hurting a bit right now, but he soon won't. Lucy loves him and Lorcan loves her. It's not that big a stretch. Lily won't last long.

And Lysander might not, either.


End file.
